Imaging agents play a vital role in the diagnosis and management of a variety of human diseases. With recent advances in molecular biology, there is a need to develop new imaging agents that respond to physiopathological events at the molecular level. This is within the purview of chemists who are trained to design molecules for specific applications. While many conferences on molecular imaging are held every year, the focus had not been on the strategy to develop imaging agents that are crucial in molecular imaging of diseases. Consequently, we plan to organize a chemistry-focused symposium to exchange ideas on the recent advances in the chemistry and application of imaging agents in biomedical research and clinical settings. To harness the power of the world's largest chemist organization, the American Chemical Society (ACS), to attract a large audience, we plan to hold the symposium in conjunction with the ACS National Meeting held at Anaheim, CA from March 28 to April 1, 2004. Five sessions will be held and will cover topics on nuclear, magnetic resonance, ultrasound, radiographic, optical and miscellaneous imaging agents for medical applications.